September 12th 2025
ROADLESS RULE PROTECTIONS, TONGASS RAINFOREST THREATENED
Current Proposal to Rescind the Roadless Rule
On June 23, 2025, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced the agency’s intent to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule
NOW is the time to inform the USDA about the important issues to address when developing a Environmental Impact Statement
Take Action to Protect Critical Salmon Habitat
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Comments on the Roadless Rule Rescission Notice of Intent (NOI) are due September 19 at 11:59 PM EDT
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COMMENT RESOURCES
Alaskans Own, a community-supported fisheries program of ASFT, has put together fact sheets and action items for consumers who want to take action on the Alaska Roadless Rule.
Use our Alaskans Own sample letter to tell the USDA to keep the Roadless Rule in place and submit your public comment HERE
Sign on with SalmonState to help defend the rule HERE
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ARE YOU A FISHERMAN?
Use our ALFA Fishermen Comment Letter Template
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Plan to send your own letter?
Include these key components:
Your Name
Vessel Name, homeport, and that your livelihood depends on fishing
STATE YOUR OPPOSITION TO ROLLBACK OF THE ROADLESS RULE
Note that the Tongass is a salmon forest, providing 2/3 of the pink salmon caught by commercial fishermen in Southeast waters and 75% of the coho.
Remind the USDA that past road building and timber harvest damaged salmon habitat in the Tongass and devastated salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest.
Salmon need healthy forest, rivers, and coastal areas to thrive and your business depends on strong salmon runs
Restate your opposition to rescinding the Roadless Rule
Additional information on how to submit comments: HERE
WHAT IS THE ROADLESS RULE?
Adopted by the USDA in 2001, the Roadless Rule prohibits the construction of new roads and most timber harvesting in inventoried “roadless” areas.
The Roadless Rule covers around one-third of the National Forest System.
In Southeast Alaska, the Roadless Rule protects more than 9 million acres in the Tongass National Forest, from clearcutting and timber road construction, sustaining fish and wildlife, supporting wildlife viewing, recreation, and commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries. The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, 16.9 million acres that host 14,000 miles of anadromous salmon habitat, 12,000 square miles of estuarine habitat, 20,000 lakes and 40,000 miles of river. This richly productive habitat returns goods and services every year, year after year, provided the forest is not destroyed for the trees.
Why The Roadless Rule Matters for Alaska, and Beyond
The Roadless Rule, protects millions of acres of national forests, from industrial clearcutting and road construction. These protections safeguard ecosystems, communities, and economies. Find links below to ALFA's five fact sheets that explain the Rule’s importance from different angles:
Timeline & Overview – Traces the Roadless Rule’s history of adoption, rollbacks, reinstatements, and its role in protecting old-growth forests, wildlife habitat, salmon runs, and climate stability.
Taxpayer Subsidies – Shows how industrial logging in the Tongass has cost taxpayers $1.7 billion over 40 years, while creating very few jobs. The Roadless Rule prevents wasteful road-building and has saved an estimated $5 billion over 20 years.
Climate & Carbon – Highlights the Tongass as one of the world’s most important carbon sinks. Protecting intact forests here is a “no regrets” climate solution, supporting biodiversity and helping meet climate goals.
Salmon Habitat – Explains how roadless areas safeguard Southeast Alaska’s world-class salmon fisheries. Logging roads and culverts block spawning streams, while intact watersheds keep salmon strong in the face of climate change.
Communities & Economy – Underscores how fishing, tourism, and subsistence, not logging, are the real economic engines of Southeast Alaska. Roadless protections sustain local livelihoods, cultural traditions, and healthy communities.
The Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust’s SeaBank Annual Report captures the economic value of the Tongass goods and services
Southeast Alaska is the state’s largest salmon‐producing region by volume, with over 53 million salmon returning each year.
>> Annual commercial fisheries dividends include 300 million pounds of seafood/year, ~10,000 jobs, and ~$700 million in total economic impact to Southeast communities
Tongass Ecosystem Service Value
Tongass lakes and rivers: ~$363 million in fisheries/recreation assets and regulating services.
Tongass coastal wetlands: ~$22.3 billion in ecosystem services
11 million acres of Tongass rainforest: ~$13 billion/year in ecosystem services (e.g., water regulation, wildlife/fish habitat, carbon sequestration)
Natural Capital vs. Timber Subsidies
Since 1982, the Tongass timber harvest has cost U.S. taxpayers ~$1.5 billion in subsidies.
These values depend on the Tongass’s natural capital: forests, rivers, and estuaries remaining intact (as a forest, not board feet)
Roadless Exemptions & Non-timber Projects
Decision-makers argue that removing Roadless Rule protections won’t necessarily increase timber harvest but will ease non-timber projects. Yet, ALL 58 Alaska non-timber projects seeking Roadless exemptions since implementation were approved
Implications for Communities & Climate
Additional losses of spawning/rearing habitat are significant, given current population vulnerabilities, and may drive prolonged fishery closures, threatening hundreds of Alaska resident-owned small fishing businesses, processors, and community support sectors.
These risks are heightened by climate change.
Every Southeast resident–and especially every Southeast fisherman–should consider what is at risk with the proposed roll-back of the Roadless Rule
A Brief TImeline of the Roadless Rule
2001 - USDA finalizes the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, prohibiting road construction and timber harvest in inventoried roadless areas
In 2003, the Tongass exemption was adopted; subsequent legal challenges followed
In 2011, an Alaska federal court overturned the 2003 exemption and reinstated the Roadless Rule; the State of Alaska’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit was unsuccessful
In 2018, the USDA initiated a process in response to a petition from the State of Alaska to again exempt the Tongass. Thousands of fishermen, Southeast residents, and other Americans submitted comments, with the vast majority supporting continued protections.
In October 2020, USDA issued the “2020 Alaska Roadless Rule,” exempting the Tongass from the Roadless Rule
In January 2023, the USDA reversed course and reinstated the Roadless Rule in the Tongass, citing values including cultural uses, carbon storage, biodiversity, and a modern economy centered on fishing and tourism
*THIS* AUGUST 2025, the USDA proposed rescinding the Roadless Rule protections across ~44.7 million acres of National Forests, including the Tongass National Forest - the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world
AUGUST 2025 to SEPTEMBER 19th, the PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD OPEN
By March 2026, an Environmental Impact Statement will be drafted
By late 2026, The final rule, EIS, and Roadless Rule recision decision are expected to be released
Defend the Roadless Rule NOW - Speak Up for Salmon
Help protect Southeast Alaska’s salmon, communities, and fisheries
>> COMMENT NOW <<